Trivia Crack
| Trivia Crack | |
|---|---|
 Trivia Crack logo | |
| Developer(s) | Etermax |
| Publisher(s) | Etermax |
| Director(s) | Maximo Cavazzani (CEO and Founder of Etermax) |
| Platform(s) |
iOS Android Windows Phone |
| Release date(s) |
iOS October 26, 2013 Android October 26, 2013 Amazon App Store May 17, 2014 Windows Phone September 18, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Trivia |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Trivia Crack (original Spanish name: Preguntados) is a mobile app that allows users to compete against friends and people around the world. Modeled after popular games such as Trivial Pursuit, it became the most downloaded game in December 2014 from the Apple App store.[1] The game initially launched on October 26, 2013, specifically to Latin America, until it had eventually been translated into English.[2]
The game is developed by the company Etermax, whose offices are located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is available as an app on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Facebook, and the Amazon App Store.,[3] the game is available in more than 15 languages.
Gameplay
The game's questions are based on 6 knowledge categories: Entertainment, Art, Sports, History, Science and Geography.[4] The game has 6 cartoonish iconic characters, one to represent each category (for example, a globe to represent the Geography category). The objective of a Classic-mode game is to answer questions correctly and in doing so, obtain all 6 characters before one's opponent does. In all modes, the time limit to answer the given question is 20 seconds.
A player may start a new game by pressing the New Game button on the app. They can choose to play against one of their Facebook friends, a friend they have, or they can play against a random opponent. The player starts with 6 empty slots, one to store each of the characters, and an empty 3-slot "crown gauge." The player tries to populate the crown gauge by spinning a wheel and correctly answering the presented question. The player will repeat this as long as he/she answers questions correctly or obtains all 6 characters and wins the game. If the player answers a question incorrectly, their turn is over and control of the game is passed to their opponent. The first player cannot get more than 3 characters in the first round, so if the third character is obtained in the first player's first turn the turn ends. The second player can get all 6 characters in the first round.
It is also possible to play against any other user of Trivia Crack, even if you or they are not on Facebook, by using the search function and entering a user name. The player will be given a list of user names that are a full or partial match that updates as they type.
The wheel consists of 7 slots: 6 category slots (one for each knowledge category), and a 7th special "crown" slot. The player spins the wheel and is then presented with a 4-choice question that is based on the category the wheel lands on. Each time the player answers a question correctly, one slot in the crown gauge is filled. The player has a chance to obtain a character anytime the 3-slot crown gauge is filled by either landing on categories and answering questions correctly 3 times, or by landing on the "crown" slot, which automatically fills the crown gauge and immediately grants the opportunity to obtain a character.
Each time the player gains the opportunity to obtain a character, they are asked which way they wish to try for it: the "crown" method or the "challenge" method. If the player chooses the crown method, they are asked to choose which category-based character to try for from a list of characters they have not yet obtained. The player will be presented with a question from the category associated with the character. If the question is answered correctly, the player wins that character and either continues trying for the remaining unattained characters, or wins the game after obtaining all 6 characters. The player can also choose the "challenge" method, which gives them an opportunity to steal a character from his opponent, but in doing so must bet one of their own characters. In challenge mode, the player is given a series of 6 questions in a row to answer (correctly or incorrectly), then their opponent is given the same questions. If the challenger answers more questions correctly, they are able to steal a character from their opponent. If the challenger loses the challenge, they also lose the character they bet. If there is a tie, the defending player receives an extra question.
A game is over after either one of the players obtains all 6 characters, making them the winner, or a total of 25 rounds have been played. A round is completed each time both players play their turns until they answer a question incorrectly. If 25 rounds are played and neither player has obtained all 6 characters, the player with the most characters will be the winner. If both players have the same number of characters, a 6-question challenge will be presented to each player, and the winner will be the one that answers the most questions. If both players tie the challenge, the player that initially started the game will be the winner.[5]
It is possible for a given player to have multiple games in progress at a time. The app's main screen will show the player which games are currently waiting for them to play their turn, which games are waiting for the other player to play their turn, finished games that the player won or lost, games awaiting a Facebook friend's approval, or games a Facebook friend started that are awaiting the player's approval. Each game will list the score, that is, how many characters the player has and how many their opponent has.
When starting a game against a Facebook friend, the starting player will play their turns until they answer a question incorrectly, and the game will then be in a pending-approval status. Their Facebook-friend opponent can choose to accept or reject the game, and if they accept, game play continues normally until one of players obtains 6 characters or 25 rounds are completed. If a player chooses to start a game against a random opponent, the player will play their turn until they answer incorrectly, then will be randomly matched up with an opponent who has recently played his/her turns.
When a game's turn is passed to a player (from the opponent answering incorrectly), the game will wait up to 72 hours for that player to play their turn. If 72 hours pass and the player has not played his/her turns, the game will force the player to forfeit.
Also challenge mode is available. The player names the challenge and then invites friends to play. This will cost the player who started the game a life and all friends who accept the challenges one too. Each player is given the same 12 questions, 2 from each category. The winner is the player who gets the most questions right in the quickest time. The winner gets a set amount of coins based on how many players have accepted the challenge.
Free spins
A newly created player starts with 3 "free spins." If a player spins the wheel and lands on a category they consider difficult, the player may use one of their free spins to spin the wheel again in the hopes of landing on a different category. If a player runs out of free spins, they can request more from their Facebook friends, or can buy free spins through in-app purchases.
Power-ups and coins
The game makes the following power-ups available, which players can use to gain an advantage if they are presented with a difficult question. Using a power-up costs a certain number of in-game coins and only the power-ups that the player can afford to buy are made available. The player wins coins through certain in-game achievements, winning games, or buying coins via in-app purchase.
(1.) Bomb: Using this power-up "blows away" (discards) 2 incorrect answers, narrowing the player's choices down to the correct answer and a remaining incorrect answer.
(2.) Second Chance: If this power-up is used before guessing an answer, if the player guesses wrong they will be allowed to guess one more time before the game records an incorrect answer.
(3.) Skip: The player may skip the question without answering, and does not lose their turn from doing so. The player is then given another question from the same category.
In all cases, only one power-up can be used. Once a power-up is used, all power-ups are disabled until the player answers. If the player answers correctly, power-up will be available for the next question. If the player answers incorrectly, power-ups will be available in the next round.
Lives
"Lives" serve as a mechanism to throttle how often new games can be started, and also provide an in-app revenue opportunity for the developer. Each time a player starts a game by pressing the New Game button, or accepts a Facebook friend's request to play against them, they are charged a Life. A player can have up to 3 lives at a time, and as they spend lives, the game will automatically replenish one life every hour until the player returns to a full charge of 3 lives. A heart icon on the app's main screen shows how many lives the player currently has, and if they have less than 3, a timer will also display that ticks down in real time to show how long until the next replenishment. If the player runs out of lives, they must wait for replenishment before they can start any new games or approve a new game started against them by a Facebook friend. A player who does not want to wait can either request lives from their Facebook friends, or can immediately recharge to 3 lives via in-app purchase.
When the app is updated, players are offered the opportunity to buy unlimited lives or raise the life limit from 3 to 5 lives.
Running out of lives does not affect games that are already in progress, and these games can continue to be played in the meantime when it becomes the player's turn.
A newly updated Trivia Crack allows players to replenish one life by watching a video.
References
- ↑ "'Trivia Crack' the top download". Edmonton Sun. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ↑ Heim, Anna. "How Latin American mobile game Trivia Crack conquered the US market". The Next Web. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ↑ "TriviaCrack.com website". Etermax.
- ↑ Newcomb, Alyssa (31 December 2014). "Trivia Crack: Inside the Free Game Topping App Store Charts". ABC News. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ↑ "Rules". Etermax.